St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-17
LIGHTING A TUNNEL.
A HOLE IN THE MOUNTAINS TC
BE ILLUMINATED.
Electricity the Agent to he USed--Ovel
Twelve Hundred Lamps Required-Ad-
ditional Measure of Safety to Passen-
gers and Large Saving in Labor.

Unless unexpected obstacles are mel
with the Fitchburg Railroad Company
will have the plant for the electric light
ing of the Hoosac tunnel substantially
finished before January /. The contract
requires the Westinghouse Company TO
furnish all the electrical appliances
while the railroad will provide the power
1t is not quite settled whether this is tC
be derived from the Deerfield river al the
east end of the tunnel. or from sta
tionary engine at the west end. The fall
in the Deertield is ample, and it is be-
lieved that the volume of the stream will
always be sufficient, but some other con
siderations favor the use Of steam
The electric light company is to be re,
sponsible for everything beyond the en-
gineroom, including the perfect working
of every lamp in the tunnel.
The proposal to light the tunnel in
wolves several novel problems in electri
cal engineering. Preliminary expert
ments made last summer showed that the
gas and smoke eXerted a powerfully cor.
rOsiye effect on the common electrical
appliances. Chemical action as well as
dampness has therefore to be COntended
against. The metal sockets usually en-
plOyed with inCandescent burners will
not answer at all, and some other mate
rial must be employed. Extreme pains
will also have to be taken with the CON
nections between the main wires and
those leading to the lamps.
Two heavy N-shaped wooden boxes,
extending the entire length OF the tunnel,
are to be buried in the broken stone bal
lasts of the double tracks, one on each
side of the tunnel, just beyond the ends
of the ties. Each of these boxes will
contain four large copper wires making
eight in all. Smaller connecting wires
will lead out of the boxes every forty
feet to lamps on the walls of the tunnel,
and as the connections are to be alter
mated, the lamps will be only twenty
feet apart for the whole four miles
and three quarters. Between 1900 and
300 lights will be required. 1t is eX-
peCted that the system will be ready tor
use within a few weeks. The material
for the boxes is now being collected, and
the " estinghouse Company promise to
have the wire on hand as soon as it is
wanted During the trial test llgntS were
burned continuously for several weeks
for the space of half mile The results
were remarkably satisfactory. The tun-
mel was so we'll Illuminated that a person
| riding at the rear of fast express train
could readily distinguish the section
men beside the track from one another.
The speed of passenger trains in the
tunnel is about thirty miles an hour.
The first advantage to be derived from
the lighting of the tunnel will Of course
be additional safety. Passengers, how
ever. have little occasion for nervous
ness, inasmuch as no accident of any mo-
ment ever happened there y section
gang is constantly employed watching
the walls and the track quite as closely
as any of the outside mileage Besides
the element Of safety, an important ad-
vantage will be greater economy in Oper-
alton. When track k-layirg is necessary
about thirty men in 100 have to carry
torches for the remainder to work by.
The use of the electric light will of
course reduce the labor bills materially.
->pyiHqfeJd Republican.